


Full Moon

by little0bird



Series: Dog Star Rising [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Pre-Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, lycanthropy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 07:12:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18615709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/little0bird/pseuds/little0bird





	Full Moon

Sirius slammed his Potions book closed.  ‘How much do you want to bet Snivellus wrote two feet of parchment in infinitesimally tiny writing?’

 

‘I’m not taking that bet,’ James murmured.  He idly turned pages in a small pocket-sized calendar, marking a small X in what seemed like random squares.  ‘He did three feet last weekend for Defense.’ He chewed on the end of his quill, frowning. ‘C’mon. Let’s go.’

 

‘Go where?’

 

James stuffed the calendar in his pocket.  ‘We need to talk.’ He threw a glance at Peter.  ‘ _ Alone _ ,’ he mouthed. James crammed his books into his bag. 

 

‘ _ What about Remus?’  _ Sirius mouthed, tilting his head toward the skinny, pale boy, curled into an armchair, sound asleep.

 

James shook his head.  ‘Let him sleep,’ he murmured, carefully keeping his face turned away from Peter. ‘I’ll go first. Wait a bit, yeah? And leave your things.  I’ll be in our dormitory.’ He darted through the common room, distractedly saying something about needing the loo. 

 

Sirius pulled an afghan from the back of one of the sofas and tucked it around Remus.   _ Those trips home to see his mother aren’t very restful _ .  His breath caught in his throat when he saw the thick bandage under Remus’ shirt collar.   _ Shite… _

 

Sirius wound his way through the students doing homework, chatting, playing chess or Gobstones and slipped up the stairs to their dormitory.  Sirius was privately relieved James hadn’t wanted Peter around. There was something about him that Sirius couldn’t quite put his finger on, but Peter often rubbed Sirius the wrong way.  Sirius struggled to refrain from smacking the other boy, but Merlin’s holey Y-fronts… Peter was just gagging to be liked. Always trying to ingratiate himself into his and James’ good graces.  James wasn’t very fond of Peter, either, but he didn’t want to hurt his feelings. What was the harm, James reasoned, in letting Peter tag along?

 

When Sirius entered their dormitory, James shoved the calendar into his face.  ‘Notice anything?’ Sirius took the calendar and flipped through the pages. Every month had a red X in a square, with the words “full moon” scrawled across the square.  ‘Every X is a day that Remus supposedly went to visit his sick mum.’

 

‘You think he didn’t see his mother?’

 

‘You think he just left Hogwarts on a random Wednesday afternoon?’ James whispered, his face near Sirius’, eyes wide.

 

‘Not really.’

 

‘Every full moon.  The next day he’s worn out.  A bit battered around the edges --’

 

‘That’s an understatement,’ SIrius interjected.

 

James drew in a breath.  ‘I think he’s a werewolf…’

 

Sirius felt the urge to laugh. ‘Go on,’ he scoffed. 

 

‘I’m serious!’ James protested, lugging his Defense textbook to Sirius’ bed. ‘Look!’  He opened the book. ‘Page three hundred and ninety-four.’ Sirius scanned the pages, and James continued. ‘I sent an owl to Dad.  He remembered that werewolf Fenrir Greyback bit a kid. That kid was four years old. And the kid would be in their third year at Hogwarts today.  And the  _ only  _ reason Dad remembers it is because Greyback bit a  _ kid _ .’  James jabbed his index finger at a paragraph.  ‘Kids generally don’t survive a werewolf bite.’

 

‘I don’t know,’ Sirius sighed. ‘It's a coincidence, isn’t it?’

 

James gestured to the calendar. ‘One or two months is a coincidence,’ he insisted. ‘But  _ every _ month for  _ three _ years?’

 

‘What are you two plotting this time?’ James and Sirius jumped, the calendar falling to the floor, both of them gaping at Remus, standing sleepily in the doorway.  ‘What? Do I have a giant bogey in my nose?’ Remus swiped the back of his hand under his nose. 

 

James exchanged a look with Sirius.  It was Sirius who grasped Remus by the elbow and drew him into the room, closing the door behind them.  ‘Where’s Peter?’ Sirius asked.

 

‘Left his Herbology homework in the library.’  Remus glanced at James’ textbook, still open to the page on werewolves.  ‘Doing some light reading before bed?’ he asked lightly, but Sirius noted his already pale face paled a bit more.

 

‘Our friend James here has a barmy, crackpot theory that you’re that kid who was bitten by Fenrir Greyback about ten years ago,’ Sirius said.  He was wholly unprepared for what happened next.

 

Remus shuddered and bit back a sob.  He covered his face with his hands and began to weep uncontrollably.  Driven by an impulse he didn’t quite understand, Sirius carefully wound an arm around Remus’ waist, murmuring gently, ‘Come on, mate…’  He led Remus to his bed and urged the other boy to sit next to him. 

 

Remus scrabbled in his shirtsleeve for a handkerchief.  He briskly blew his nose and wiped his eyes. ‘How did you guess?’

James sank onto the mattress on Remus’ other side.  ‘I kept track, and noticed a pattern. Asked my dad a few questions.’

 

‘And you look like shite,’ Sirius added, with a chuckle.

 

‘Sod you,’ Remus shot back wearily.

 

‘So if you don’t see your mum every month, where do you go?’ James asked, frowning.

 

‘Shrieking Shack.  Madam Pomfrey takes me there before the moon comes out.  There’s a secret passage from the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack.  There aren’t any doors or windows to get in or out of it. There are, of course, doors and windows, but it’s a stout building.’

 

‘And this?’  Sirius lightly ran his his fingertips over the large bandage that ran from Remus’ shoulder to the opposite hip.

 

‘The werewolf wants to bite… maim…  but there aren’t any people, so…’ Remus shrugged a skinny shoulder.

 

‘It hurts you,’ Sirius said, resting his head against Remus’.

 

‘Yeah.’

 

Sirius met James’ eyes over the top of Remus bowed head.  James nodded once.

 


End file.
